Do you often feel overwhelmed by the sheer number of tasks that you need to complete?

Do you struggle to know where to begin?

Is it difficult for you to decide what is most important?

Do you often feel like you simply don't have enough TIME?

If you have answered "yes!" to any of the above questions then you may need a little help with planning and prioritising – read on for some top tips!

1.     Plan

• Know the 1,2 or 3 most important things that you want to achieve each week

• Define your short, medium and long term goals

• Set daily goals - start the day by defining a goal that you would like to achieve and review it at the end of the day

• Consider your week as a whole and designate non-negotiable timeslots for work and self-care.  Understand when you work at your best and design your week accordingly

• Work in short-ish bursts (but give yourself time to get into flow)

• Decide what you’re going to do before you sit down to do it, so that you can get started straight away

• Turn off other distractions, such as email and text messages

• Front-load, i.e. set yourself up for success.  For example, having your gym clothes ready to jump into as soon as you wake up.

2.     Prioritise

• If you’re feeling overwhelmed or very short for time, ask yourself when you sit down to work, “What is the most important thing for me to do right now?”

• Know that done is better than perfect

• Do the most challenging thing first

• Split your to-do lists into categories, e.g. Home and Business.  Keep it as short as possible and number in priority order

3.     Involve Your People

• If you’re working amongst people, delegate.  Employ the 80% rule: if a job can be done by someone else 80% as well as you, delegate it!

• If you don’t have the right skills and don’t have the time to teach yourself, find someone who does within your network and look for a win-win – people are nearly always willing to help

• You don’t need to look far beyond your own home – get your husband/partner/kids to do more! 

• Do you work better in amongst a team of people?  Arrange more Zoom 1:1s/quick coffee breaks to bounce ideas

• Think of someone you admire or you perceive to be really productive or organised and ask yourself, “What would X do?”

4.     Don’t Neglect Self-Care

• If you struggle with this, keep the one thing that you really need as a non-negotiable practice and make it a habit, e.g. 10 mins meditation a day, 20 mins yoga, a walk, journaling every night before bed etc.

• Keep a tidy workspace: a tidy space = a tidy mind!

• Check your mindset – work within your field of influence and know what is outside of your control

I hope that has got you thinking about how you currently organise yourself and use your time.  Once you have built a strong awareness of your working habits, the good and not-so-good, you can start to employ strategies that work for you.  Enjoy!

Vicki Messenger is a Women’s Business Coach, empowering aspiring, early-stage, side-hustling and pivoting female founders to create extraordinary lives through businesses that they love.  You can find more of Vicki’s articles and complementary resources at www.vickimessenger.com.

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